The present invention relates generally to a heatable windshield washer nozzle for mounting on the windshield wiper of a motor vehicle.
A heated windshield washer nozzle is shown in German Patent No. DE 198 33 142 A1. In the German reference the nozzle housing is fastened onto the wiper arm by means of a clamp device and has a connection adapter for a heatable spray water hose. Heating cables are embedded, i.e., molded, in the hose material along the water line. A heating element is located in a separate chamber above the spray nozzles and is connected by a direct plug connection to the ends of the heating cables projecting out of the hose. Then a raised flap over the heating element is lowered and engaged with the edge of the housing.
The aim of the German washer nozzle arrangement is to position the heating element as close as possible to the washer nozzles in order to achieve the best possible heating of the spray fluid all the way into the washer nozzle. Preferably, this keeps the spray water in the liquid state even when the exterior temperature is below the freezing point. However, because the heating element is connected to the heating cables by means of a plug contact, the channel with the nozzles carrying the spray water is separated from the heating element by an intervening wall. Therefore the heat of the heating element is transferred to the spray water only partially, i.e., incompletely. Establishment of the electrical connection via the plug contact is also rather complicated. The two heating cables must first be exposed at the end of the hose and then soldered to a plug.
The objective of the present invention is to simplify the heat transfer from the heating wires to the heating element and at the same time to improve the transfer of the heat to the spray water in the nozzle. This objective is realized according to the present invention by locating a heating plate directly above the body of the nozzle, such that the heating plate completely covers the surface of the chip. The heating plate has a bar formed on its edge which projects into the water hose connection adapter. When the heatable spray water hose is slipped onto the connection adapter, the electrically bridged ends of the heating cables extend over the bar of the heating plate without making direct contact with it.
The design of the present invention allows the heat produced by the heating cables to be transferred to the heating plate without direct contact between the cables and the bar, and for the heating plate to transfer its heat directly to the spray water even to the very end of the channels, so that an optimal heating of the spray water is ensured.
These and additional characteristics of the present invention are explained in greater detail with reference to a preferred embodiment illustrated in the appended drawings.